Urban Institute: Latest News

WASHINGTON - What started as a $4 trillion effort during President Joe Biden's first months in office to rebuild America's public infrastructure and family support systems has ended up a much slimmer, but not unsubstantial, compromise package of inflation-fighting health care, climate change, and deficit reduction strategies that appears headed toward quick votes in Congress.Lawmakers are poring over the $739 billion proposal struck by two top negotiators, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and holdout Sen. Joe Manchin, the conservative West Virginia Democrat who rejected Biden's earlier drafts but surprised colleagues late Wednesday with a new one.What's in, and out, of the Democrats' 725-page "Inflation Reduction Act of 2022" as it stands now:Launching a long-sought goal, the bill would allow the Medicare program to negotiate prescription drug prices with pharmaceutical companies, saving the federal government some $288 billion over the 10-year budget window.Those new revenues would be put back into lower costs for seniors on medications, including a $2,000 out-of-pocket cap for older adults buying prescriptions from pharmacies.Money would also be used to provide free vaccinations for seniors, who now are among the few not guaranteed free access, according to a summary document.Matthew Buettgens, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute, explains how the unwinding of Medicaid continuous coverage once the public health emergency ends will present certain challenges.The bill would extend the subsidies provided during the COVID-19 pandemic to help some Americans who buy health insurance on their own.Under earlier pandemic relief, the extra help was set to expire this year.

our health care system, serving millions of children, pregnant women, seniors, those living with disabilities and other adults, and its enrollment only skyrocketed over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.However, millions of Medicaid enrollees risk losing their coverage once the official public health emergency ends in the United States. One analysis by the Urban Institute, an economic and policy think tank, projects this could be as many as 15.8 million people, depending on its end date. The analysis, co-authored by senior fellow Matthew Buettgens, aims to highlight the massive scale of coverage transition that awaits — and what happens to those losing coverage.

FILE - Robert L. Santos, nominee to be director of U.S.

states saw their tax revenue drop by about $31 billion, or 6%, from March through August, compared to the same period a year earlier, as the pandemic triggered economic shutdowns across the country, according to a data from 44 states compiled by the Urban Institute.The scale of the drop appears smaller than expected, relative to the depth of the economic contraction, and comes after several states have reported that their revenue didn’t decline as much as anticipated despite business shutdowns and increased unemployment.

Taraji P. Henson, John Legend and Lizzo have added their names to a letter calling for the stop on increases to police budgets, following the death of George Floyd and increase in social unrest from this past weekend.

Hollywood stars want to see less money going to police and more money going to communities.